From the Director
Today, 796 years ago, Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone died penniless at the age of 44 in a small hut nearby one of several chapels he had restored with his own hands in the Italian countryside. During his life, he:
Renounced the wealth he was born into, donating all of his possessions to charity and surviving for the rest of his life on income from hard labour or on charity
Was beaten, imprisoned,denounced and disinherited by his father
Single-handedly restored the chapel of Saint Damiano, begging for stones which he would carry to the chapel and put in place himself
Embraced, treated and cared for lepers
Continually spoke about the importance of caring for nature and the environment
Was imprisoned by the Pope for denouncing the greed and opulence of the Catholic church
Was set upon by brigands and left for dead in the snow
Survived a shipwreck on the Dalmatian coast
Crossed enemy lines during the 5th Crusade in attempt to convert the Sultan of Egypt to christanity, offering to undergo trial by fire in the attempt
He said:
“Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what's possible; and then suddenly you are doing the impossible”
“It is in giving that we receive”
“It is in forgiving that we are forgiven”
“We should never desire to be over others; instead we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being”’
We are a secular learning community and, as such, have respect for all religions and for those who choose not to be religious. However, I hope that, regardless of your particular beliefs, you can agree that there is much to be learned from the example and words of St. Francis of Assisi who died on October 3rd, 1296.
From the Head of Primary
Top Tip! Bookmark your Child’s Timetable
Teachers update the same timetable document each week. This means that you can bookmark your child’s timetable in Google Chrome for easy access.
Happy Children’s Day
This year, despite the limitations, we wanted to celebrate just how amazing our children are with activities ranging from crazy hair to sharing family videos. During this pandemic our children have shown resilience, compassion, creativity and courage. We are so proud of them and wanted to take the opportunity to thank them for the joy they bring us in their daily virtual lessons.
Internet Safety
Being at home during the pandemic, our children are spending a lot more time online. Being connected helps children continue with their lives but it also presents a new set of challenges for parents. How can you maximize all that the internet has to offer, while minimizing the potential harm? It’s not an easy balance on a normal day. If you missed our parent partnership on Internet Safety, click here to view the presentation in English or Spanish.
Poem by First McNeil
Well done to First McNeil for the progress they are making in their writing and this wonderful collaborative poem.
Walking Round the Zoo
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A colourful bird
That squawked at me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A Lion
That roared at me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A toucan
That tries to eat me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A zebra
That ran fast at me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A baby elephant with his mum
Who sleeps with me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A lion
That is looking scary at me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
Another toucan
That squawked at me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A bird
That flies into me!
Walking round the zoo
What did I see?
A cobra
That almost escaped from me!
Poetry: Why is it so important for children to learn about poetry?
This week the Primary staff attended a special online training session with Rachel Clarke, an English literacy consultant from the UK. Here are her 10 reasons for teaching children poetry:
It’s generally not chosen by children themselves - adults need to use poetry with children to model how to read it, build familiarity with it, and widen children’s reading horizons.
It’s a great context for learning to choose words for effect - learning to recognise how a poet chooses words for effect opens children’s eyes to language as something more than a list of ‘wow’ words.
It encourages playfulness with language - learning about poetry at the grammatical level, learning to move clauses and phrases for impact, and to punctuate for effect are valuable lessons that can be learned through poetry.
It has an impact on prose writing - poetry for poetry’s sake is a wonderful and enriching thing but it also teaches them techniques to improve their prose writing.
It's a great context for learning to draft, edit and improve
Performing poetry enables children to link reading and writing to spoken language
It's manageable - most poetry is concise which is perfect for those children who are daunted by reading longer texts.
It encourages links with literary heritage - classic poems and rhymes are a great way to ensure that children are exposed to the literature from their heritage.
It promotes higher order thinking skills - there are often no ‘right answers’ when discussing poetry.
It's enjoyable!
Marianne Taylor
Head of Primary
Dates for your diary
UPPER PRIMARY
October
Monday 5th - 3 Way Conferences start (until Friday 30th October)
From the Secondary Leadership Team
Secondary Online Learning
We have just finished our 8th week, and we would like to say a huge thank you to the teachers who have kept students engaged so far throughout this term. We would also like to thank all our parents who have been there to support students from home. Together we are ensuring online learning can continue to take place.
What keeps us on the right path during this time is our mission for online learning, shown in the image below:
(Secondary School Online Learning - published September 2020)
As online learning evolves (there have been great strides since the start of lockdown!) we are continually evaluating the impact learning in this way is having on our students. Earlier this week, we sent surveys to students, parents and staff to better understand how this learning mode is impacting our community. Over the next week, the leadership team will be looking closely at this feedback and meeting with staff to help improve the experiences for all.
Thank you to all parents who completed the survey, some initial feedback (see graphs below) has shown that we are already on the path to success in engaging all students in their learning with a goal to allow them to advance during this unusual time.
(Parent Survey, 28th September 2020)
The survey so far has also shown us that students are using this time to take responsibility for their learning and are building independence. We are delighted to see that students also know who to speak to if they need support. Our tutors, teachers, LSU and Heads of Year are all contactable if students need any support at all.
(Parent Survey, 28th September 2020)
One student who has been making the most of her online learning experience is Mariana Campos Calvo from Grade 7. She has put together this wonderful video for us all to watch which explains how online learning works here at the ABC as well as some of the online learning tools teachers and students use on a day to day basis.
I suggest you all click here to watch Mariana’s video.
Over the past few weeks, we have been working on a publication to be able to communicate how we are continuing to challenge and involve our students online each day within the secondary school. We also wanted to outline how you as parents can help within different areas of your child's education to ensure that we minimize the gaps in learning until we return physically back on campus.
Shown below is a diagram taken from the booklet which shows the range of different tools which are being used within our online classrooms allowing students to effectively communicate with both the teacher, work within ‘breakout’ groups and access the content they need. We are very proud of the number and quality of resources available to allow students to continue to be inquirers, work within teams and make the most out of this form of learning.
(Secondary School Online Learning - published September 2020)
I encourage you all to read through the booklet (also on the parent portal) to find out more about how you and your children can access these tools, how students are using these within their lessons and how you can support the students at home.
Please click here to read the full booklet.
Some notices from the rest of the Senior School Leadership Team can be found below:
On Tuesday at 7.50-8.10am, Mr Burdett will speak to Grade 7 to demonstrate the myhomeworkapp.com/login/google - parents are welcome to come too (please watch along with your child, using their ABC login - we regret we cannot admit parents using non-ABC personal logins)
If your child’s gift bag, sports equipment order or textbooks still need to be collected from school parents may come any day between 8:30-11:30am Monday to Friday to collect these items. Please enter via the Administration Car Park entrance and go to reception. If you wish to collect items after 1130am, please send an email to all three Secondary Office Assistants (marieolossoto@abc-net.edu.sv; roxanahall@abc-net.edu.sv; lissettcastro@abc-net.edu.sv) to arrange an appointment, as the office assistants are working in shifts and will need to be notified in advance. If you are unsure whether your child has a textbook to collect, you can see a full list here of all students with textbooks waiting for them in the LRC. Please double check with your child before making the appointment to confirm that they do not already have a copy of the book.
Wishing you a safe and restful weekend,
Alexander Kilford
Assistant Headteacher Responsible for Data for Teaching and Learning
alexanderkilford@abc-net.edu.sv
Dates for your diary
SECONDARY
October
Tuesday 6th - Grade 6 Learning Review Day
Thursday 15th - Grade 7 Learning Review Day
Monday 19th to Friday 23rd - United Nations Week
Tuesday 20th - Grade 8 Learning Review Day
Friday 23rd - ABC Founders' Day
November
Monday 2nd to Friday 6th - Half Term holidays
Monday 9th - back to Distance Learning lessons
Monday 9th to Friday 13th - British Week
Thursday 12th - Grade 10 Learning Review Day
Friday 20th - World Children's Day
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